


Sneaky in Suburbia

by reshirama



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Oh Yeah wait til we get to ciel's arc, Trans Male Character, but also canon, headcanon based, its like what if the lore of elsword was still a thing but it was modern, lots of lesbians, sorta?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-07 20:32:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11631354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reshirama/pseuds/reshirama
Summary: 'And, sure enough, even through her pain addled mind, she hears the sirens.'---In the city of Lanox, trouble is brewing. Two demons try to leave their crime filled life behind them in a flower shop. A police officer with a strange secret watches over a boy who might be more important than himself. A young queen of a forgotten civilisation wakes up to all eyes upon her. And, deep within another city, the past comes forward to haunt the future in the form of a boy desperate to return home. One thing is for certain: the city is waiting for all their paths to cross, and for the chase to begin.---a modern retelling of the Elsword Story. Very headcanon based. Lots of liberties taken. Really Gay





	1. Lu.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I'm going wild with the Elsword cast here but y'know what I'll treat them better than KoG does.  
> Luciel, Ain and Eve are the main focus of this I'm afraid, but, as far as I've planned, all the characters will get arcs. All the Elsword world mechanics still apply, it's just a more modern setting.  
> Lu, Eve and Ain are going to be the narrators. It'll go in that order. I'll try to get updates out as I can.  
> Enjoy!

The moment the strange man walks in, Lu smells something on him- something that reeks. But, a customer is a customer, and she needs all the business she can get these days, so she puts on her best toothy-but-not-too-toothy grin and leans over the table.

“Welcome to the Noblesse Flower Emporium. I'm Lu. How can I help you today?”

The man in front of her has grey-brown hair with a spike pointing up almost comically, and a long white coat thrown carelessly over his shoulders. Lu's heart skips a beat as she sees the gold badge glinting on the right side of it.

“Uh, yeah. I was wondering if Ciel was in? He put in an order for me.” His voice is rich and his words are clearly spoken ( _almost too clearly,_ Lu thinks), but there's a very light touch of an accent, one that Lu can't quite place. Her back prickles, but she twists her mouth into a smile all the same.

“He's out, I'm afraid. Today's his day off.” She picks up the clipboard next to her, and checks it. “Did you leave a name? If it's arrived, I'll know.”

The man shifts slightly, tugs the side of his coat and gives her a slightly lopsided grin. “It was... uh, quite specific? He said he'd arrange them.”

“Your name, please.” Her voice is hard, and she stares at the man with cold eyes.

“Ainchase Ishmael.” Lu nearly flinches. Nearly.

“Interesting name.” Her voice stays steady. Her eyes flick down the page. Yeah, there it is. And, ugh, of course he had picked Ciel's personal piece. Lu just wants him _out_ of her shop.

“Yeah! Isn't it? They say my family was descended from angels.” He sounds too happy about it.

“That why you joined the police?” She nods at the badge on his coat. She's already reaching for the phone, shooting Ciel a text.

_Why did you let a policeman order your personal piece the day before your day off?_

“That's... actually a funny story!”

Her phone pings.

_He was quite insistent, Lu. It's hard to say no._

A groan.

_Well, hurry up and get back!_

_I love you Ciel, I do, but you're useless._

Ainchase is beginning to ramble, but she's not listening. She tilts her head back to listen to the radio chatter until the phone buzzes in her hands.

_Don't need to. I made them last night. They're on the side in the back._

Lu frowns. Ciel puts a lot of work into his flower arranging. There must have been some reason he finished this one so quickly.

“Hey.” She leans forward and taps the desk and cuts off Ainchase.

“And then I-huh?”

“Did you push Ciel to get these done early? Just wondering.”

“I asked him if it was possible.” The policeman's forehead creases. “I did need them for today, but I said I could pop in next week. He said not to worry, and that they'd be done today.”

Lu sighs. “What sob story did you tell him?”

Ainchase shifts slightly, and laughs, short and sharp. “I'm visiting this ill boy who's mother is dead and his father's in the army, and his sister-”

“Alright, alright. I get it.” She shoots him a glare. “Next time, visit your ill boy on a day when he's _not_ in some coffee shop with his one actual friend, okay?” Lu gets up, walks round the corner, and there it is: Ciel's bouquet special. He calls it Eschaton. It's blue, deep blue, with a few light purple flowers- it seems to almost glow, sparkling with forget-me-nots and blue roses. Since Ciel started his flower arranging, they've had a lot more customers, and Lu couldn't be prouder. His skill with flowers is surpassed only by his skill in the kitchen. That and-

“Oh!” Her customer's voice cries. Lu trots back through, the pot in her arm. She peeks around the flowers to see Ainchase's eyes bright with an emotion she can't quite place.

“What-”

“Shh!” And he points at the radio. Lu bites back her frustration when the words sink in.

“ _The news has come in that the terrorists who attempted to attack the newly discovered Nasod Queen on her coronation were demons. The group who has claimed responsibility are the Steel Hounds, who are famously led by the Succubus Queen, Karis Arania. Thankfully, the Queen was not harmed by the attack, but tensions between the Nasod and Demon kingdoms remain tense. We go to the scene with-”_

“Disgusting demons!” Ainchase's hands hit the table. “Do they honestly think they can get away with this? They're awful! I-”

“Ahem.” Lu puts the pot on the table, and reaches out with a deft hand to shut the radio off. “Your order, sir.”

“Please, call me Ain!” Lu doesn't think she's seen someone's face change expressions so fast; it almost catches her off guard. A gasp from _Ain_. “Oh! It's more beautiful than I expected. Elsword will love this.” Coins rattle on the table. She counts for a moment.

“Hey, you're a couple ED short.” A muffled apology, and the coins fly across the shop and land so perfectly on the pile that Lu stares for a long, long time at the door long after it's rattled shut.

She gathers up the money, sorts it into the till and walks over to the door. The sign flicks 'Closed.'

Lu walks into the back and locks the door. She takes off her hat, removes her high heels, and walks over to the mirror. With a breath in she brings her hands over the top of her head, and the air ripples like a pond in sunlight. Two bright horns sit on the side of her head. She pulls the blinds round the side of the room, and stares at her glowing eyes reflected back at her.

She tugs at the Contract. There's about thirty seconds of silence, and then Ciel tugs back.

_What is it, Lu?_

_We're going clubbing tonight, Ciel._

* * *

“Lu, are you sure about this?” There's uncertainty in the Contract. “If someone recognises you-”

“Then we'll have Raven beat them up.” She holds out her hand, and Ciel takes it, helps her into her high heels. He hands her the deep blue hat that has grown dusty, and pulls out the veil, pulls it over her horns. Then he unclips his hair and lets it fall over his pointed ears. Lu reaches out, pulls him in so their foreheads touch. “I can look after myself, Ciel. And I'm more worried about you. We both have enemies, you know.”

Ciel sighs, twists their fingers together, and the strain of anxiety in the Contract fades slightly. Lu has never known it to be completely gone. “I'll protect you too, I swear.”

“We protect each other.” This statement settles, satisfied, within the Contract. They stand there until there is a knock on the door.

Ciel opens it. Raven smiles raises his good hand, and gives them his strange lopsided smile. A long, oversized coat hangs loosely over his shoulders, buttoned up awkwardly and coming too long down his arms.

He always looks like this. People stare. But they'd stare more if they knew what the coat was hiding.

“Hope you don't mind I brought Rena.” He nods to the girl next to him; green hair pulled back into a ponytail with a flower perched atop, and pointed ears. Ah. An elf. She gives a little nervous wave. Lu raises a hand back.

“Of course not. The more the merrier.” Ciel turns round. “Right, Lu?”

Lu walks forward, perilous in her heels, and looks Rena in the eyes (in the eyes!) and extends her hand. Rena takes it, and they grip each other. Rena is strong. Her eyes are playful and bright, and they grin at each other, toothy and excited.

Tonight, Lu is certain, is going to be fun.

 

Tonight is not fun. The taxi is late (what do you expect when you let a Trock get drunk and drive a car, but, hey, when you need some kind of non-human to drive you to your nightclub beggars can't be choosers), the traffic is awful, and the four of them stumble out, sweaty and cramped at the door of the club.

The Red Dragon's Head. Rumour has it that it's run by a fire dragon who's lived for centuries and now hides among humans, allowing several night clubs and other places for those who are not entirely human to gather. No matter what, this place is a safe haven. For all the years Lu has been coming here, she's never known anyone to be violent.

The door keeper is a deep red demon with eyes that glow orange. Lu gives a flash of soul power, and she stares for a moment before bowing deeply, and stepping aside. Ciel brushes his hair off his ears, and follows her in.

His hair being down is as protective as a mask. Even such a simple change protects them and their livelihoods.

Raven and Rena follow them in, Raven's arm shining in the flashing lights. Lu's ears ring with the sound of the latest chart hits.

A group of nasod sit chatting with some merfolk. Two bestial demons grin at a trock, cards clutched within their claws. The trock slides a pile of ED over while the demons cackle. A dark elf sips an almost glowing liquid from a champagne glass.

“We're going to dance.” Raven waves with his good hand, Rena clutching a finger of his mechanical arm.

“Alright. We'll meet back at the bar at one, alright?” Ciel calls after him, and they get a nod in return.

 _Ciel._ Lu says through the contract. _It's too loud. I can't hear myself think._

She's certain she hears a chuckle back, and pouts, pulling on his coat sleeve. He reaches for her hat, pulling it off. _Let's go sit then, Lu._

They walk over, and the crowds part before her. They may not know exactly who she is, but anyone can sense the energy coming of herself and Ciel in waves. They head for the demons cheating at cards, who look up, chatter with panic, and scatter. The trock scrapes the few coins they left off the table, and, with a shining, wide-eyed stare, scampers away.

“Thank god. I did miss this place, but I forgot how _loud_ it is.”

Ciel lets out a soft, short laugh. “Lu, this is nothing compared to some human clubs.”

She lets out a long, elongated groan and leans back against the back of her chair. “How did your species _survive_ , Ciel? You can't hear enemies coming because your ears are all blasted to death by loud music.”

Ciel laughs then, deep and genuine and Lu feels the amusement seep through the Contract. She sits up, takes his hand and squeezes it tight. The lack of concealment spells around her horns and ears makes her entire body feel lighter, and seeing Ciel's eyes so bright for the first time in weeks (she must remember to give him a holiday- he's working himself to death) makes her think that maybe she had the right idea coming out tonight.

And then there's a scream from the dance floor. It's not joyful, but broken and full of fear.

She and Ciel are on their feet in a moment, his hand on her arm as she wobbles on her heels.

 _Where are the bouncers?_ She thinks. _The Red Dragon's Head is usually peaceful_. She reaches for the soul of the demon she saw at the door and finds it spread all over the floor, black blood trailing it across the dance floor. Ciel makes a voice in his throat, and Lu squeezes his hand. _It's okay_. She tells him.

The crowd parts around them and she sees the tiny trock they had chased away from the table earlier, a small knife in its hand and the red demon lying on the floor, life gurgling through her mouth.

There's a chatter from above, a cackle and a hiss.

“Concubi!” Lu shouts, and then a scatter of heart shaped projectiles explode. Dancers scream, and quickly Lu casts a spread of energy, shining blue. Ciel adds his energy to it, and Raven and Rena dash to their sides.

Rena crouches down over the bleeding red demon, and begins muttering in a language Lu doesn't understand.

“Run!” Raven shouts, and the crowd begins to move.

And then, from the doors, there's a howling.

“It's the Hounds!” Someone yells, and pandemonium explodes around them.

Demons of all classes and varieties snarl around them, pink and blue streaked over their arms. Ciel has pulled his gunblades out and holds off a demon by its claws. Raven throws one off Rena's back as she continues to mutter over the bouncer's body. Dark claw streaks mar her back but she continues regardless, and Lu feels a shock of respect.

The concubi begin to retreat, and a wave of trocks suddenly rush forward. Lu is certain she spots the one who drove them here in the taxi, and cold coil of dread winds itself in her stomach.

And then everything freezes, and a familiar voice rattles across the club.

“Oh, Luciela~! What a wonderful surprise!” Karis, dressed in a long gown, wine red and almost glowing, struts in. Steel Hound demons and trocks aside bow to her, and the concubi flutter down to frame her. Bright pink eyes meet Lu's, and Lu is suddenly overcome by memories.

 _Chains. Chains all over her. Chains through her stomach. Chains through her legs. There's even one through the roof of her mouth. Berket sits, eyes empty, mouth open as he laughs. Footsteps, and a scaled hand brushes his face, and his mouth snaps shut. The laughter stops. Karis, wings open and eyes narrowed, touches Lu's chin, and licks her lips. “Your_ Majesty _.” she sneers. “Such a shame that we couldn't have some... fun before you go.” Her eyes flash down Lu's body. “Any last words before we lock you away for good? I might just change my mind if they're the right ones~” Lu gathers up a mouthful of saliva (difficult with the chain through her mouth) and spits in Karis' face. Karis snarls, suddenly furious, and slaps Lu straight across the face. A chain slams through her windpipe, and Lu screams as best she can, a pained wheeze, and then the chains are pulling her down, down, down through the ground, through the dirty pavement, and she's falling, she's forgetting, she's barely sure who she is with all the pain, and the deep red mark on her cheek, and there are tears in her eyes but she doesn't even remember why anymore. She can't remember anything. Not even her own name._

“Lu!” Ciel's hand on her arm is comforting, and she leans on him, leans into him to keep the memories from flowing through her. She is with him. She is Luciela R Sourcream and she's not alone anymore.

And she is _angry_.

“Rena, is that demon alright?” Lu's voice is sharp and cold.

“She'll live. I did the best I could.” Rena sounds exhausted.

“Raven, Ciel, I need you to get everyone else out. Karis is mine.” Karis leers, teeth sharp.

“But-” Ciel's voice is high.

“Go! I'll call you if I need help. Just get those people out alive.”

“Stop them.” Karis sounds almost lazy as she says it, but when the trocks rush forward, Ciel's gun, Marbas, flashes, and they fall back. He and Raven, supporting Rena between them, dash off.

Lu summons her gauntlets. They fizzle and hiss around her hands, claws sharpening and blue energy seeping around them. Karis pulls out her scythe, and they strut, circling round each other like dogs in a ring.

It's with a shriek that Lu tosses herself forward, claws extended. Karis catches her, and Lu already sees the words on her lips. She tosses herself back, slashing defensively and the metal of the gauntlet catches the spell.

 _Be careful, Lu._ Ciel calls through the Contract.

 _Oh, I'll be careful._ Lu bares her teeth. _Careful to split her skull against the ground just right._

And with that, she lunges again, Karis again chanting, but Lu's foot strikes her mouth and she howls her own spell.

A blue mist of souls bursts out of the ground, and Karis wails. Lu strikes her hard across the face with the gauntlet still equipped and Karis, bleeding black, whimpers.

She reaches back, souls sparkling from her claws, and pounds them into Karis' shoulder. It'll scar. She twists, and Karis screeches below her.

 _That was easy._ She thinks. _Too easy._ She hears the hiss of chains behind her, and she jumps. One pierces through her arm, and she yells, agony spreading through her. _Chains through her arms, chains through her legs, chains through her chest, chains-_

“Lu!” Ciel's voice echos, and she falls against him. He's solid, real, and the Contract throbs. She feels him pull the chain out of her arm, but that will scar too. She and Karis have exchanged scars. “Lu, there's too many of them. We have to go- the Celestial Police are here.” And sure enough, even through her pain-addled mind, she hears the sirens.

“Yes, Ciel. Let's go.”

Karis stares, eyes burning with pure hatred. This is a stalemate- Lu knows she can't afford to be found by the Celestial Police either. “One of these days, Luciela, I'll have you. You and that pretty little mongrel of yours.” She raises a blood drenched hand and clicks her fingers, and an escort of cackling succubi surround her, and in a moment, she's gone.

“Lu, Ciel. We have to move.” And there's Raven, usually close cropped hair wild, with a panting Rena hanging off one shoulder, and two demon bouncers standing at the other.

“Way out, please.” Lu is beginning to feel the blood loss rushing to her head, so she leans harder on Ciel.

“Of course, your Majesty.” Coming from Karis' mouth it had felt contemptuous, but from this demon, decorated with genuine respect, Lu can hear it without feeling like she's been punched in the gut.

The four of them follow the bouncers to a back door, to a car park where the police are talking to a distraught manager. The bouncers brush up, a distraction.

 _Lu. They have an Angel with them._ Ciel whispers, almost fearful. Lu looks up, and her eyes widen.

The Angel floats just off the ground, wings golden and slightly outspread. She has a strange moment of deja vu.

The Angel speaks, voice booming and deep and _rich_ with a slight touch of an accent, and Lu knows, Lu knows, even in her blood loss addled mind, where she knows him.

The same strange ruffled hair, the same white coat hanging off the same relaxed shoulders the same unfamiliar yet entirely familiar accent, the same light laugh.

 _Angelic family, my ass._ Lu thinks. _He's a fullblooded Ishmael aligned Angel. Lying fucker._

She bares her teeth, and then the world spins sideways, and she collapses against Ciel's shoulder.

* * *

 

_When Add awakes, the world is spinning. He's not in the library anymore. He's not..._

_For a moment, he's sorry. But then he's glad! Something new! He's sure he read every single book in that awful place at least once, maybe twice. He reaches out for Dynamo, and it whirls alive. He sighs._

_Familiarity._

_Memories._

_The only thing he has left of his family._

_He walks out onto the street. It's raining. He opens his mouth, feels the water- fresh water!- touch his tongue. He laughs. People stare. He cares not. It is raining, and he can feel in on his face, on his hands. His hair is wet. His clothes are soggy._

_He is alive._

_He stands in front of a shop that displays some kind of screens. They show programs for hours and hours. He gets the time. He gets the date._

_And then he sees her._

_They call her the Nasod Queen._

_They exalt her. They protect her. In her amber eyes, he sees his mother die._

_On her forehead shines his hopes and dreams. All the power he could have._

_He could destroy. He could create._

_He could go back._

_In her eyes, he sees his mother die. In her core, he sees her stand up again. He sees her stand up, the blood return to her body, the colour to her face. He hears her laugh again in the Nasod Queen's muffled and dull voice._

_Add laughs._

_Add is alive._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Eve copes with being a celebrity.  
> Lu makes the news,  
> and Add sits in a puddle.


	2. Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for misgendering of a trans character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh! Just a note about all the classes that will be here:  
> Elsword: Rune Slayer  
> Aisha: Void Princess  
> Rena: Wind Sneaker  
> Raven: Blade Master  
> Eve: Code: Empress  
> Chung: Iron Paladin  
> Ara: Asura  
> Elesis: 240 Blaze It Heart  
> Add: Complicated. We Don't Talk About Add.  
> Luciel: Noblesse/Royal Guard  
> Rose: Not in the story, oops. I can't work out how to fit the DFO universe into this. Sorry, Rose.  
> Ain: Erbluhen Emotion
> 
> I.E, I am too powerful and there is no rhyme or reason to this.

After the attack, Eve spends days just laying in bed. It's not even that she's upset. She just knows that there is no point getting up.

Technicians and officials come in, beg her to move. Psychologists and scientists alike chatter by her bedside, and still she does not stir.

It's only when they return Moby and Remy to her that she even looks up. And then she gets up, and asks in a voice shaky from a lack of use for a mechanical table.

They bring it to her fast, along with a very formal apology from the scientists. They didn't realise they were sentient, they say. They would have never taken them if they had known, they say.

Moby is never quite the same after that. He's slow and whirs sadly, and can't glide as well as his sister. Eve gets to work at once.

She hears the mutters of professionals behind the glass. She does not react.

There is glass either side of her. The city spreads out one end, vaster and more vibrant than she could ever imagine. _This city is Hamel,_ they've told her. She remembers hearing of Hamel in the past, but it was never like this. Not so metallic and expansive and _alive_. The rivers shine with the gleam of metal. She breathes it.

On the other side, a glass window. White coats and glasses glint at her through it. She feels like a piece of art in a museum. They stare at her for too long, too hard, in all the wrong places. Sometimes a television crew comes in, and the camera stares at her, a beady eye trained on her.

“The people want to know how you're doing.” 'The people'. It means nothing to Eve. The people in the city, beyond Hamel. More than she can ever imagine. The thought of so many people even existing scrambles her circuits. So she doesn't think about it. She doesn't think about anything beyond her room, and Moby and Remy.

But she wants to think about more. There's something curious in her. She needs to update her database, she says. They bring her books.

She begins to read.

She has words to put to her situation, now.

_Trapped. Confused. Nihilistic._

Within a day, her vocabulary extends. Shakespeare is her favourite- she loves his overarching themes of identity and exploration. She's fascinated by his capacity to write so many different views. It amazes her that so many views can even exist.

She has a new phrase for herself. _A bird in a cage._

She's seen birds- there's a nest of crows next to her window, their screeching wakes her up in the morning- but not one in a cage.

She asks for a songbird the next day. They bring it in, trapped within an ornate cage, silver and gilded. The bird is bright and vivid. It perches and sings, and the sound is pleasing to Eve's ear. But she sees herself within that cage, singing to a dark eyed camera for 'the people', that strange, invisible audience.

She opens the window, and then the cage door, oblivious to the cries of those behind the glass. The bird is out the window in a flash.

_At least one of us can be free,_ Eve thinks. But the next day, she sees a small bright body and orange feathers in the crows' nest. _Freedom comes at a price and a risk._

They let her leave the apartment the next day. A man with a microphone asks her questions, and someone behind him holds up a card with answers. Eve answers without really thinking about what she's saying, reading off the cards with a monotone voice.

Guards patrol her down the street. She runs her hands down coats and shirts, skirts and jumpers, revelling in the freedom of touch. There are flashes from phones around her, snaps that she can feel on her skin. She wasn't allowed to bring Moby and Remy with her, and it is in this moment that she feels their absence the most keenly.

She dips a toe in the water of the Hamel River- just a toe. The water reminds her she is alive, and that she can die. She could die, she could throw herself in, and feel her circuits explode around her. But she won't. She has work to do. For her people.

When she comes back, she asks for a television. She watches films, soap operas, documentaries. She learns all she can about the past five hundred years. And when she think she has enough, she opens the news.

There seems to be much discomfort in this day and age. There is murder. There is discrimination. She sees herself on the news, answering the questions like a machine. She is a machine.

This era disgusts her. Each advertisement break is full of women, posing and simpering, scantily clad, or people laughing at each other, mean spirited and full of hatred.

The headlines themselves are no better. One news show tears a girl (they call her a priestess, but she's barely 16, youthful and fearful) to shreds. They said she worked with the demons. But Eve looks her up afterwards, and discovers that she was blackmailed, threatened with her life, to work for the gang.

It takes a long time for something to really grab her interest.

“ _90 years after her disappearance- the Steel Queen finally returns?”_

There's a therapist reading next to her. Eve forgets his name. He tells her everyday. She deletes it from her memory data out of pure spite.

“Who's the Steel Queen?” she asks.

“A demon gang leader.” he replies. “She disappeared before I was born, but she's very famous. It's a cold case, they say. No evidence she died, but she never showed up again either. Something of a cryptid, to be honest. About ten years ago they declared the case closed. Why?”

She points at the television. A smoking building, a passionately talking reporter. And then a shaky, amateur video of a girl who looks about 15? 16? (Eve isn't one to judge.) facing off with a tall woman dressed in dark pink. They both have twisting horns and lashing tails and glowing eyes. Demons. The smaller blue one _pounces_ , like a hunting lioness in one of the nature documentaries Eve has been watching, teeth bared. And then the video falls away with the crowd, but there's still the audio of horrifying, inhuman screeches from the left.

It flicks back to the reporter.

“ _Many have been saying that this is likely a publicity stun, or an imposter. But the more experts and detectives scour the scene, the more certain we are that it was indeed the Steel Queen herself. A program documenting her extraordinary life will be on at nine-”_

Eve flicks off the screen. She doesn't want to watch any more. But she does want to know more, more about this Steel Queen. Something about her (maybe the _being gone for that amount of time, like Eve, just like Eve_ ) has caught her attention.

When the therapist leaves, she pulls up her computer and searches.

_Steel Queen._

Pages and pages of information spill forth.

_Gang leader.. known to be less violent than other demons... often took in strays... was occasionally fond of humans and unpopular with her own kind... true name confirmed to be Luciela. R. Sourcream, from the thought to be extinct bloodline of Asmodeus._

There are pictures, pictures absolutely of the same demon who was on screen, but older. If the demon there had been a girl, the demon Eve is looking at now was a woman. Her hair is long, eyes sharp. Horns curve up straight and thin as opposed to curved sideways, but it is the same person, without a doubt.

There's talk about the club where the incident happened in too. Apparently it's something of an underground place ( _not anymore_ , Eve thinks bitterly) for _oddballs._ For those who aren't entirely human, say those that don't care for subtlety. Eve is glad to hear it's not being closed down. It was, say the press, at no fault for the incident.

It happened in Lanox. She stares at the name of that place, pauses, and then types it into her search engine.

Lanox, it says. Town of fire, town of hot springs.

Lanox, it says. Home of the most demon gangs in Elrios. Home of the most demons in general, too. Home of an awful lot of nonhumans. Merfolk are the one running the hot springs. Fire elves run huge traditional smithies. It's where the fire priestess had her life ruined.

Eve is sick of Hamel. It's too wet. She wants to go somewhere hot. She's sick of her bird cage. She no longer cares if she dies, or disappears. Luciela, the Steel Queen, came back. Two Queens, they're birds of a feather.

She begins to pack. She does it when the cameras are off. She has asked for privacy, and she feels as though she's reaping the benefits now.

She hides the clothes in a pocket dimension, hidden from view. She practices makeup in the mirror, in the bathroom that she never uses. Her Core is practically invisible by the time she's done.

And then she begins work on _him_. She uses leftovers from the scraps they gave her to fix Moby and Remy, but she is frugal. She is careful.

It's with loving care that she crafts his arms, strong enough to protect her from the modern, outside world, and his hands, kind enough to comfort her when she is alone in this unfamiliar time. He is taller than her, to see enemies coming. He is not stupid (yet not as intelligent as herself). She makes herself the perfect friend, the perfect servant.

She loves him more than anyone else she's met in this era already.

When she installs the code, she thinks for a moment. Her mind wanders to the Shakespeare she read, to the words that were as lovingly put on the page as this new nasod was put together.

“Your name,” she says. “is Oberon. The man you are named after was proud and unkind to those he should have been kind to. Please learn his lessons, and give me his strength.”

She is a romantic. She can accept this. It's part of her code, the one that was written all those years ago.

_Your role is to try to understand human emotion. Only then can your race succeed._

Humans are romantic. She's seen this, in the screens, in the books, in the way they treat her. She was intended, she thinks, to be a mirror. To shine the good parts of them upon her people. Her people are gone, but she still reflects. She will not let her reflection die out.

Oberon stirs the next morning, and the white coated humans chatter and gasp at him. Eve has seen animals in zoos. The four of them are a particularly strange family unit of unknown animals to these men.

They want to take him away and rip him apart, take apart all of Eve's hard work. Her eyes are hard. They do not even ask.

It's an ordinary day within the bird cage, but the songbirds are beginning their escape plan. The security cameras turn off for the night, and Eve does her makeup in the mirror. Her hair is tied up in an elaborate bun. She frowns. When did she do that? She has never worn her hair like that. Who did her hair like that? When did she let them?

She pulls her fingers through it, and her hair falls. It comes just past her shoulders, curls around her armpits.

She is unrecognisable. She is anonymous. Before she might have hated this, but now it's freedom.

From her cupboard she brings out a pair of jeans, a hoodie. The hoodie is too big for her, but she pulls it over her anyway. It's baggy and unattractive and _perfect_.

Eve grins, adrenaline, that foreign animal, tearing through her circuits.

“Moby, Remy. Oberon.” Her drones dart to her shoulders- they are to aid in navigation. Oberon stands behind.

She checks her backpack, and then thinks. If she disappears with no trace, the media will think she's been kidnapped or killed herself.

She almost thinks she prefers that. But then, when she does make her eventual reappearance as the Nasod Queen, in charge of her _own fate_ , there will be questions she does not want to answer. She takes a piece of paper, a pen.

_Don't look for me. Thank you for your hospitality. But I was not treated with the respect I deserve as Queen of a nation. Please reconsider this next time I come into contact with you._

_Eve._

And then she opens the window. Part of her wants to smash it, to see it in pieces. But that would set the alarm off, and she does not want perusers.

She steps out. Oberon follows.

“Initiating Code: Architecture.” she says. The code stirs within her, and an endless wave of knowledge pours upon her.

_A Queen bows to no one and answers only to those who deserve it._ The code tells her. Yes.

_Yes,_ she thinks. _Yes, that's right._

And then she takes flight.

The air beneath her feet feels familiar, and Moby and Remy provide support. She glides towards the next skyscraper, eyes wide and full of _life_.

Her feet touch the skyscraper roof, and she looks around. The city is so much more beautiful at night, she thinks. The buildings are all lit up, mechanical, alive, with lights. Tiny beacons that say _'Here I am. Here I am._ ' She almost doesn't want to leave any more. But Lanox is calling- Lanox with the remnants of her people and the beautiful, intriguing Steel Queen.

“Moby, navigate.” she says. The droid beeps, and projects a map. North, the map says. Through Sander, a merchant town in the Desert, where they have a trading route. And then along that road, until you reach the hot springs.

“North,” she whispers, and her internal compass ticks. “North.”

And she sets off again, feet tip-tapping on the floor.

* * *

 

In the morning, her face is on every screen in Hamel. It was to be expected, she thinks. But they didn't read the message she left at all.

The woman who stares back at her from the shops and big signs is not herself. Her disguise, she thinks, is working. With her hoodie up, hair unkept and core hidden, people don't give her a second glance. They certainly don't see her as the pristine, shining girl on the screen.

She stops for a coffee (she has a theory that coffee is so wonderful that she was allowed to drink just to taste it, and store the experience in her memory banks.) and watches the news there. There is more to the news than her going rogue, she thinks.

It's the same. War. Destruction. The club in Lanox.

And then- something new. She doesn't move, but pays rapt attention.

“ _Hamel's White Wolf, daughter of Helputt Seiker, our spokesperson and last remaining heir to the ancient royal family of this city, who recently disappeared, speaks out about her father's fate!”_

A young girl, around fourteen years old, in a fluffy black coat, speaks with strange conviction.

“ _People always say that Hamel is free from crime. I love this city, but I have grown up here, and I have seen the awful corruption this city has to offer! My father was possessed by a demon. A gang started to do business with him, but he refused, and so they turned him dark! We must stop the demon gangs. Not only that, but I know for certain that there is enormous amounts of political corruption, even among the humans of this city. People will says that I'm only a child, but please, listen to me. I know.”_

Eve likes that girl. She doesn't know why, but there's something earnest and beaten about her that reminds Eve of herself.

And she feels... sympathy? Pity? She doesn't have a name to put to this emotion yet, but it's something. She wants to help. And she remembers reading that the Steel Queen had once restored a demon corrupted human to sanity.

She wants to help.

When they get out, she walks down a side street.

“Moby, we're making a detour.” A questioning beep from the drone. “We're heading for the Seiker household, to help that girl.”

* * *

_Add wants to go back to the library. He's no closer to finding the Nasod Queen, and the city is giving him the shivers! It's loud in the day, loud at night, and too bright. There are lights everywhere, and its starting to hurt his head._

_He doesn't like the rain any more, either. He's soaked through and shivering. His dynamos have scanned the area, and have told him that there's places that give out free blankets and food, but he doesn't want help!_

_Not only that, but he's been keeping an eye on the news, and it says that the Nasod Queen has disappeared. Run away. He no longer has a concrete goal._

_And finally, he's certain he's being followed. He hears the footsteps, hears the breathing. It feels like there's someone at his shoulder, whispering words he can't quite hear, can't quite understand. It irritates him. It makes him feel furious and cold and angry inside._

_He's run out of money. He made a little by begging, a few coins scraped out of his coat pockets were apparently vintage enough to sell for some money. But he hasn't eaten in two days, and it's starting to show._

_He coughs. His stomach growls. The voice behind him laughs bitterly. He wants to yell, but his voice feels as though it's gone._

“ _Mama,” he whispers. He wants to go home. “Mama.”_

“ _Your mother won't come, idiot.” the voice growls. “Your mother is dead, don't you know that?”_

_Add whimpers, tears streaking hot down his face. And then the world spins, pitches to the side, and his head hits the concrete._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time:  
>  Lu is salty,  
>  We find out why Elboy is in hospital,  
>  And Ain accidentally flirts with everyone.


End file.
